The optimization of educational institutions in the Vitebsk region should be completed this year
Last year, 46 small schools were closed and 54 were reorganized. The savings from optimization, solely on salaries, amounted to almost 4.4 million rubles.
According to Dmitry Khoma, the work on reducing costs in the education sector cannot be assessed solely by closing and reorganizing institutions. It is a complex of issues aimed at optimizing the functions of educators, the number of classes, subgroups, utility costs, and implementing energy-saving measures.
All saved funds should be directed towards strengthening the material and technical base, purchasing buses for transportation, opening boarding schools, and creating "Schools of the Future" in each district center. Such a project has been tested at Secondary School No. 1 in Dubrovno. In 2017, more funds were spent on capital and current repairs, and the purchase of educational equipment, than in the previous two years.
This year, the optimization of educational institutions should be completed. Currently, in the Vitebsk region, almost two dozen schools have fewer than 25 students, and 33 have fewer than 50.
By the way, 11 schools have stove heating, three have outdoor toilets, 37 buildings are adapted, and 10 are dilapidated. Improving the network of educational institutions is vitally necessary.
From January 1, 2019, normative financing of schools will be introduced in Belarus. That is, the budget of an educational institution will be formed from a certain amount per student.